In all of the conversations that Mickey and I had about our wedding both before and after we were engaged one thing was clear–the band was at the top of the list. We both love weddings and usually spend a majority of the night on the dance floor. If you’ve ever seen photos of him at the end of the reception he’s dripping in sweat and has a huge smile on his face. It’s the absolute best!

Neither of us have ever needed to look for a band for anything like a fundraiser or an event, so we were really starting from scratch. Everyone gave us great advice around listening to samples, what to ask them, and where to look. They say don’t mess with a good thing, so I started the search where everything else has begun–on WeddingWire.

Since we’re getting married in Texas it was a little easier to keep a larger radius on our search. The best thing about the way that WeddingWire lays everything out is that it’s super simple and clear. You can see exactly what each band specializes in, what they bring with them, and most importantly the reviews and videos. We learned a lot through the process and so I’m sharing a few things that really helped us find the one.

LISTEN TO AS MANY SAMPLES AS YOU CAN

We spent many nights after work listening to videos and watching how each band performed. We had a particular genre of music that we were looking for and also wanted to work with a band that was more flexible in allowing us to contribute to the song list. While it took a lot of time, I don’t think we would’ve realized how special the band we found was if we hadn’t heard so many other examples. It was just more proof that they were exactly what we were looking for. At the end of the day we wanted to find someone that we were confident would perform like that on the day of our wedding.

READ THE REVIEWS

This one may seem obvious, but it’s important. It can be taxing to read a ton of reviews on every band, but you’ll find common themes. Either they were easy to work with or not, their flexibility, and how much their party enjoyed the band will all come through in writing after the fact. Also, brides who loved their band so much want other people to know so that they continue to get booked and do well–the more people who took the time to write the band a review the more indicative it was that they were the real deal. The reviews were SO helpful in narrowing down bands that we liked the sound and vibe of, but wanted to ensure that they were going to be right for us. After all, this is definitely one of the biggest expenses of a wedding and you should be sure it’s going to be a good fit!

GO WITH YOUR GUT

The best advice I can give is to do a lot of research and go with what feels right to you–we were down to a few bands and there was one that really stuck out to us. It gave us all the feels when we heard their first song and everything we continued to see from them was exceptional. Some nights we come home and play their music and dance around our apartment just for fun. We can’t wait to have them play at our wedding!

Now that we’re nearly an exact year out I can’t wait to share more of the small details with you guys! I just started my checklist (an incredible tool that WeddingWire offers like the cost guide) and I also can’t wait to use their new hotel block tool. I’ll be working my way through save the dates, caterers, and every milestone along the way thanks to this easy management system.

For the other previous brides out there–what was your favorite part of the planning process? I’m curious to hear at this point if any of you have any tips!